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Passing down peace

"Celebrating the common language of music, the Daniel Pearl Memorial Violin has now been carefully passed down to this year's recipient - along with the viola, cello and second violin that make up the Daniel Pearl Quartet - as instruments of peace. Named and crafted in honor of the Wall Street Journal reporter and devoted amateur violinist killed in Pakistan, the instruments are the work of Maine-based luthier and fiddler Jonathan Cooper who, after Pearl's murder in 2002, saw them and the power of music as "a way to help counteract all that darkness....a chance to, perhaps, push back against a world I felt was very chaotic and destructive and wrong." At first, Cooper envisioned making one violin to give to Pearl's son Adam, so that the son could remember the father who reportedly always brought and played his violin on his travels. But in conjunction with the Daniel Pearl Foundation, which organizes fellowships and concerts around the globe, the "small idea" grew. Now each year four instruments pass, hand to hand, to four young musicians chosen at a renowned strings camp. The kids are chosen for their musical skill as well as their ability to share a message of tolerance as they work, play, travel and once more pass along their instrument. From Sarah Hubbard, 19, this year's recipient, "This is how peace spreads, I guess."

"Palestinian municipal elections were supposed to be held last week. Instead, they were canceled. A statement released by the Palestinian Authority claimed the cancellation was "in order to pave the way for a successful end to the siege on Gaza and for continued efforts at unity" between Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, and the government in the West Bank.

The cancellation of this election was an unjustified, unlawful, and unacceptable act. It damages democratic rights and makes a mockery of the interests of the Palestinian people.

But this is far more than an internal Palestinian issue. The only lasting peace between Isr…